Tag: Laura_E_James

Happy News Year!

2025

Happy news to share

Happy New Year to you all. We’ve had gales, rain, snow and sun and we’re nine days in only. I’m looking forward to getting back into my writing theatre, on which I’ll post another time, but for now, I’ll keep writing from the warmth of our home.

I say writing. At the moment it’s all about revising, editing, and learning how to be an indie author.

The Writing Theatre

Change of direction

I’m extremely lucky to have a fantastic support system from my family and friends to my writing family and friends. The Romantic Novelists’ Association continues to provide excellent guidance, advice and opportunities for writers of romantic fiction (which is a broad genre), and its members are kind, wise and generous with their help and offers of expertise. Without this support, the decision to self-publish wouldn’t have been an option for me, but I’m excited and raring to go.

Three years ago, the publisher of my first trio of books, Choc Lit, kindly reverted those books rights to me, bar a few outstanding licenses. It wasn’t just the physical book – it was the audio, digital, foreign and large print rights too. This month sees the final right reverted.

With this deadline on the horizon, and with novel number four, currently titled, Make Your Own Kind of Music (MYOKOM), written, edited and revised to the point I can no longer see the proverbial wood for the trees, and with the added consideration of chronic health conditions and disabilities management, it was the perfect time to rethink my career.

How it’s going

Self-publishing is not the easy route, but the more I research, the more I feel it is a good fit. As a person who manages her spoons (the Spoon Theory), indie authorship will allow me autonomy and the grace of flexibility. Publishers have deadlines, printing schedules and contracts, and I happily signed up to all that ten years ago, but I’m less energetic these days, and struggle more with fatigue. Going at my own pace will reduce the chances of letting people down. Perhaps this is a naïve perspective, as I know how hard my indie author/hybrid friends work, but I have good people behind me (family and friends cheerleading), trusted experts on board and a small, but perfectly-formed team of beta readers waiting for their first look at MYOKOM.

In the meantime, I am updating the previously published novels, starting with Follow Me Follow You, which was my second women’s fiction, but my first paperback. I love this story for so many reasons – the fun my daughter and I had inventing the social media site, EweSpeak, Victoria Noble and her journey in trying to understand her son, Seth, little Seth himself, beautiful Chris Frampton and his unconditional love for his family, and the setting of Chesil Beach and Portland, Dorset. Also, in theory, this book shouldn’t take too long to revise …

My third novel, What Doesn’t Kill You, will be my second release. My debut, Truth or Dare? will take longer. If I had written it today, ten/twelve years on from when I set out to ‘write a novel’, it would have a different feel. A different voice. A rewrite might be involved.

Got it covered

Image I used to promote Follow Me Follow You when it was first published. This was a photograph taken of our son when he was four. I adapted it using an app called Watercolour. To this day, I adore this photograph and it will be forever linked to little Seth, Victoria Noble’s (the main character) son.

Follow Me Follow You will be retitled Follow Me, which was its original name. The exciting news with this is I have received the cover design visuals and they are gorgeous. I have spent the day looking through the different versions, as they all bring something unique to the book, but I have chosen the one with which I would like to proceed.

Once it’s agreed and finalised, I will do the reveal here.

Follow me (see what I did there?) on this blog if you’d like to be one of the first to see the fresh, new cover.

Comms

If you’d like to receive updates in the form of a newsletter, drop me a comment below. Currently, I do not run a newsletter, but I’m interested to hear your thoughts as readers as to how you prefer authors to send out communications.

What’s next?

Right now I’m off to email my talented and clever cover designer, and then maybe have eggs on toast for lunch. Then it will be back to the revisions.

Catch you all soon.

Laura xx

Special Offer! WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU at 99p

Special Offer! WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU at 99p

Hi, everyone.

Just dropping in to let you know that the digital download of my third novel, WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU, is on special offer at the time of posting, at £0.99p, here.

This book is very dear to me for a number of reasons and I hope this special promotion will help it reach a wider audience. If you’ve read and loved WDKY and are happy to leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads, that would be fantastic and very much appreciated.

Thank you.

Laura x

 

 

 

Exciting News and Events! April Outings

Exciting News and Events! April Outings.

I was over at The Romaniacs site yesterday, blogging about the past five years and everything I’d have love to have shown my mum, lost to us in 2012. The post can be read here. I mention it as I know she’d have loved the fact that, one, a long-held dream of mine has been realised, and two, that as an author I’ve been invited to Watford, the town in which I grew up. More of that news later.

My exciting news is that my third novel, What Doesn’t Kill You, is now in WHSmith Travel shops – train station, airports and service station branches! This is a dream come true. I am a book, music and stationery addict who has spent many happy hours browsing and buying in and from Smiths.

Following on from yesterday’s blog, the moment my good friend and author, Sue Fortin, posted a photo of WDKY at Victoria Station Smith’s, I really did think, ‘I wonder what Mum would have said to this …’

If you find the book in Smiths Travel, and you have time to take a ‘shelfie’, I’d love to see it 🙂 I haven’t managed to get to a Travel branch yet.

WHSmiths Travel Shelfie

Dates for your diary:

April 8th, I’ll be with my publisher, Choc Lit, and a selection box of ChocLiteers, at Exeter Library. See here for the details. There’s something for readers and writers and it promises to be a cracking afternoon. If you can’t make it to Exeter, I’m also attending the Southampton day in May.

I’m delighted to have been invited to Watford’s Lit Fest, speaking at an evening with Watford Writers, on April 10th. Then on April 11th, I’ll be signing copies of WDKY at Waterstones Watford between 11:00 and 13:00.

It would be fabulous to see you at these events.

I spent many happy years in Watford and surrounding areas. I attended three places of education – Kingsway Junior, Francis Combe Secondary School and Cassio College. My very first job, a Saturday job, was with British Home Stores in the high street. As a Watford FC fan, I loved it at the end of the day when the fans were returning home after the match. They were easy to spot as they passed through the shop, wearing their gold, red and black scarves and tops. I could tell by the fans’ mood if we’d won or lost.

I also worked at Watford General Hospital, The Review Newspaper, Royal Insurance and The Prudential, before moving to Dorset to be closer to my parents, who’d moved from Watford some years before.
Here’s a short video I made for Watford’s Big Word Fest.

That’s all for now. I’m off to get the tour t-shirt made up.

Take care,

Laura x

WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU – The Paperback Tour January 2017

WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU – The Paperback Tour January 2017

Happy New Year! I hope you all enjoyed the festive season and have had an excellent start to 2017.

My week has been busy preparing for the release of the paperback of my third novel, What Doesn’t Kill You, due 9th January.

wdky-front-back-and-spine

The novel has been available for a year in digital form, but there’s nothing quite like holding the paperback in your hands. I’m lucky enough to have a few author copies at home. Next week I’ll be guesting on blogs as my book goes on a virtual tour. Please do join me and find out some of the background to What Doesn’t Kill You.

I haven’t gone as far as to print tour tee-shirts, but here’s the programme.

wdky-pb-tour-poster

Hoping 2017 is a magnificent year for you.

Take care,

Laura x

Last Dance in Havana – Rosanna Ley

Last Dance in Havana – Rosanna Ley

Laura & Rosanna
Laura & Rosanna

 

On Saturday 1st October 2016, I had the immense pleasure of chatting with bestselling author, Rosanna Ley. Originally, I was planning on attending the event as a member of the audience, but when I popped into my local library to add my name to the list of those going, I was asked by our lovely librarian if I would like to pose Rosanna a few questions on the day. I’m rarely short of questions and having read and thoroughly enjoyed Rosanna’s latest novel, Last Dance in Havana, I was delighted to have this opportunity to chat and learn more about Rosanna’s writing processes, including research, and how she captures the sights, sounds and feel of the settings used in the novel.

I have not visited Cuba in real life, but nearly two weeks on from reading the novel, I can still picture the scenes set by Rosanna – I was transported there. I could feel the sultry heat, hear the music, and experience the everyday lives of the town’s residents. Members of the audience who have been to Havana agreed that Rosanna has portrayed the town, the people and the atmosphere perfectly.

The conversation went on to explore the importance of research, particularly when referencing historical events, the inspiration behind Rosanna’s novels, and the themes within Last Dance in Havana.

With a reading from Rosanna and an introduction to the next book due 2017, which sounds wonderful, the afternoon drew to a close.

My job was made easy. Rosanna is a joy to interview and the fab audience was fully involved and asking their own questions.

If you get the chance to attend one of Rosanna’s events, I urge you to do so. The same goes for reading Rosanna’s books. I was so engaged with Last Dance in Havana, I read it in double-quick time, shutting myself away in our conservatory, telling my family it was work.

I love my work.

Take care,

Laura x

rosanna-ley-ldihLast Dance in Havana.

Cuba, 1958. Elisa is only sixteen years old when she meets Duardo and she knows he’s the love of her life from the moment they first dance the rumba together in downtown Havana. But Duardo is a rebel, determined to fight in Castro’s army, and Elisa is forced to leave behind her homeland and rebuild her life in distant England. But how can she stop longing for the warmth of Havana, when the music of the rumba still calls to her?

England, 2012. Grace has a troubled relationship with her father, whom she blames for her beloved mother’s untimely death. And this year more than ever she could do with a shoulderto cry on – Grace’s career is in flux, she isn’t sure she wants the baby her husband is so desperate to have and, worst of all, she’s begun to develop feelings for their best friend Theo. Theo is a Cuban born magician but even he can’t make Grace’s problems disappear. Is the passion Grace feels for Theo enough to risk her family’s happiness?

From bestselling author Rosanna Ley comes an exotic tale of love, family and friendship set between England and Cuba.

In Recovery

In Recovery

Lancaster Uni Campus
Lancaster Uni Campus

I have almost recovered from the whirl that was the 2016 RNA conference. Held in Lancaster, a seven hundred miles round trip, I left Dorset at 02:45 on the Saturday morning, 9th July, and arrived at the university at 08:30, just in time to help with The Romaniacs Sparkle Spotlight interviews, all of which can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaqfWTBjiNvdZ67625p2kwA

Pens, Pals & Pompoms
Pens, Pals & Pompoms panel

Pens, Pals & Pompoms Crowd
Pens, Pals & Pompoms pals

The following day I was a member on The Romaniacs panel – Pens, Pals and Pompoms – which was a high energy discussion on the highs and lows of writing, with a few cheerleading moments thrown in to celebrate the successes of everyone in the room.

Over the two days I attended workshops and panels all of which were informative, interesting, enlightening and fun. The journey home was shared with my good friend and fellow Romaniac, Catherine Miller, whose company always makes long journeys appear brief.

An excellent weekend of socialising, laughter, information, friendships, pens, pals and pompoms.

Catherine & Lucie
Catherine Miller & Lucie Wheeler

Now it’s head down and on with book four.

Take care.

Laura x

Spare Time?

Spare time?

It’s February 29th – our extra day that pops up almost every four years.

My great-nan, Nana Davies, was born on February 29th. She passed away in the 1970s.

Nana Davies 127 Feb 1944
Nana Davies

A local paper, possibly the Dorset Echo, ran the following story, many, many years ago. Apologies for not knowing the exact source of this clipping, but the paper’s name has been cut off.

‘A Great-grandmother at 19. It sounds impossible, but it is the case with Mrs. Harriet Davies, of Mount Wellington, New Zealand, who until 13 years ago lived for 20 years …(address given) in Weymouth. Mrs Davies was born in Maesteg, South Wales, one of 23 children, on February 29th, 1892 – a Leap year. She has had only 19 birthdays, although she is really 80 years old. You might think she would be 20, but 1900 was not a Leap Year.’

There are many wonderful and amazing facts in that report. It goes on longer, but this was the relevant section.

If you’re intrigued as to why 1900 was not a Leap Year, please click here.

And my Nana Davies was indeed one of 23 children.

I expect that one extra day almost every four years was used wisely.

Me? I’m using the day to put together my forthcoming talk for the Weymouth Leviathan Maritime Literary Festival. PowerPoint, here I come.

Have a great day.

Laura x

UPDATE:

My talk at the Weymouth Leviathan Maritime Literary Festival is no longer taking place. Please see the main festival website for details of the other events.